Such a connection jig is equipped with a connection terminal (a contact, a probe, an explorer, or a contact pin), supplies electric current or an electrical signal to a preset target point of a target from a test device, and detects an electrical signal from the target point, thereby detecting electrical characteristics existing between the target points so as to carry out an operation test of a continuity test or a leak test.
The target may be, for example, a variety of boards such as a printed circuit board, a flexible board, a ceramic multilayer printed circuit board, an electrode plate for a liquid crystal display or a plasma display, and a package board or film carrier for a semiconductor package, and semiconductor devices (large scale integrations (LSIs)) such as a semiconductor wafer, a semiconductor chip, and a chip size package (CSP). The connection terminal can also be directed to electrically connecting the target and the device, and furthermore be employed as the connector jig, such as an interposer or a connector, that connects an electrode terminal and an electrode terminal.
For example, when a specimen is a board on which a semiconductor circuit such as an integrated circuit (IC) or an electric/electronic part such as a resistor is mounted, the test target section formed on the board becomes a wiring or an electrode. In this case, to guarantee that the wiring which is the test target section is able to accurately transmit the electrical signal, the electrical characteristics such as the resistance between the test points existing on a printed circuit board on which the wiring is formed, a liquid crystal panel, or a plasma display panel before the electric/electronic part is mounted are measured, and then it is determined whether or not the wiring is poor.
When the connection jig is used as a test jig, a plurality of probes are provided to bring the tips thereof into contact with the test points of the test target section of the specimen and to supply electric current for measurement purposes to the test target section or to measure the voltage from the test target section.
In the present specification, the targets are collectively called a “target,” and a spot which is set on the target and with which the connection terminal is put in contact with to form a state of conduction is simply called a “target point.” A region sandwiched between the target point and the target point is defined as “between the target points.”
When the target is an LSI, an electronic circuit formed on the LSI becomes a target section and the surface pads of the electronic circuit become respective target points. In this case, to guarantee that the electronic circuit formed on the LSI has the desired electrical characteristics, the electrical characteristics between the target points are measured, and it is determined whether or not the electronic circuit is poor.
Further, when the target is a board mounted with an electric/electronic part, wiring formed on the board becomes a target section, and opposite ends of the wiring become target points. In this case, to guarantee that the wiring which is the target section is able to accurately transmit an electrical signal, electrical characteristics such as the resistance or a leak current between given target points on the wiring formed on a circuit board before the electric/electronic part is mounted are measured, and it is determined whether or not the wiring is poor.
In detail, whether or not the wiring is poor is determined by bringing each tip of an electric current-supplying terminal and/or the connection terminal for voltage measurement into contact with each target point, supplying electric current for measurement purposes from the connection terminal of the electric current supplying terminal to the target point and simultaneously measuring the voltage generated from the wiring between the tips of the connection terminal that is in contact with the target points, and calculating the resistance of the wiring between given target points from the supplied electric current and the measured voltage.
For example, when any one of the above boards is tested using a board test device, the connection terminal (the contact, probe, explorer, or contact pin) for testing the board connection jig is transferred to the target point of the test target board by a jig transfer unit, and is brought into contact with the target point, and a given test is performed on the target. When the test is completed, the jig is transferred from the target point to a standby position by the jig transfer unit. In this way, the board that is tested is controlled.
Japanese Patent No. 4572303 (Patent Document 1) discloses a contact for a conducting test jig in which a conductive pin is inserted into a nickel (Ni) electroformed pipe having a spiral structure portion, and is fixed in the Ni electroformed pipe by means such as caulking, welding, or a fusion material. Japanese Patent No. 4031007 (Patent Document 2) discloses a coil spring probe in which a contact pin formed of a linear contact and guide is provided in a cylinder whose peripheral wall is partially formed into a spring, and a collar is formed between the contact and the guide, and is connected to a lower end of the cylinder.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-115838 (Patent Document 3) discloses a method of manufacturing a nickel electroformed pipe by forming a gold-plated layer on an outer circumferential surface of a linear material, further forming a nickel plated layer on the gold-plated layer, drawing the linear material to reduce a cross-sectional area of the liner material, and removing the liner material.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-025833 (Patent Document 4) discloses a method of manufacturing a nickel electroformed pipe having a coil spring structure in part by forming an insulating coating on an outer circumferential surface of an SUS wire, forming a helical groove in the insulating coating using a laser to expose the outer circumferential surface of the SUS wire, forming a nickel film having the same thickness as the insulating coating in the groove, removing the insulating coating from the outer circumferential surface of the SUS wire, and drawing the SUS wire.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-160722 (Patent Document 5) discloses a method of simultaneously forming a plurality of micro-coils separated by space patterns by separately manufacturing a micro-pipe, forming a resist film on an outer circumferential surface of the micro-pipe, dissolving a photosensitive portion in a helical shape by, for instance, developing the film to form helical space patterns on the resist film, forming space patterns going around the micro-pipe at given intervals, and etching the space patterns.